Swamp milkweed vs Oleander aphids -- VICTORY!

[Mmathis]

Over the past couple of years I've posted about my issues with Oleander aphids attacking and weakening my Swamp Milkweed [asclepias incarnata] plants. I have yet to have blooms -- much less Monarchs -- and as of last season, I more or less gave up on ever having any successful plants. I posted on various forums and read about every article I could find on how to eliminate the pests. Somewhere along the way I set a "reminder" for myself that around May/June of each year I should start looking for them on the plants so I could take preemptive action. Ho, hum!

So this season, there is a beautiful "crop" of SM growing out of the turtle bog. The stalks are 4+ feet tall with multiple, multiple branching.....and.....Oleander aphids. I wasn't going to do anything since nothing I tried in the past worked. But this "crop" was just too nice to give up on. So, as a last resort [have I mentioned that I don't really like bugs?], I decided to try and remove them all by hand.....from every stalk, every leaf, every leaf bud...... But guess what! That was about a month ago, AND THEY HAVEN'T COME BACK!!!! I'm so excited! So something DID finally work! It was the one thing I didn't want to try -- and the easiest and safest for the other beneficial critters -- because I thought it was too yucky and I didn't have faith in that particular method.

Moral: "Never give up / Never surrender!"

Now, whether I'll have blooms or not, or if I'll be blessed with Monarchs......

For those who don't know, this is what an infestation of Oleander aphids looks like. This is a google image, not my own.

 

[Lisak1]

They are the worst! Fingers crossed for you @Mmathis ! We only had them one year, thankfully, but if I see them again I will start pickin'!

 

[JBtheExplorer]

Funny how I come across so many perfect plants in the wild without aphids, but grow them in your yard and the aphids come. My swamp milkweeds have been fine so far, but many of my common milkweeds look terrible, though I haven't seen oleander aphids on them. I did last year.

 

[Mmathis]

They are the worst! Fingers crossed for you @Mmathis ! We only had them one year, thankfully, but if I see them again I will start pickin'!

Well, it's not really "picking," but more like squishing!

Funny how I come across so many perfect plants in the wild without aphids, but grow them in your yard and the aphids come. My swamp milkweeds have been fine so far, but many of my common milkweeds look terrible, though I haven't seen oleander aphids on them. I did last year.

I'm not a great gardener -- but what I do have always seems to be pest-free....except these aphids!

 

[Faebinder]

Go online. Buy 1000+ ladybugs and release them next to the aphids.

 

[Mmathis]

Go online. Buy 1000+ ladybugs and release them next to the aphids.

Great idea, but there's no guarantee that they would do my bidding. As it is, Oleander aphids are supposed to be a major prey item for Carpenter ants. I have Carpenter ants, but they don't do their job very well..... I mean, if you have to have ants, the least they could do would be to earn their pay, right?

 

[Linus_Cello]

Could you first try a strong spray of water from a hose and then pick off any survivors?

 

[Mmathis]

Could you first try a strong spray of water from a hose and then pick off any survivors?

I have tried every accepted method and a couple of wild-ideas in the past. And yes, the water was one of those. But thanks for the suggestion!

 

[Mmathis]

THEY'RE BACK!!!! I checked the plants yesterday and there were 2 little places with a grouping of the aphids. Eliminated those, then found about a dozen in another spot this morning. But this is still 200% better than what I've dealt with in the past!

 

[CreatureBlackLagoon]

Good work! I have some on one my one lone swamp milkweed. I wonder if a roll of lint tape would work...